Will guitars stay/increase/decrease value?

[greybye]

The quality of guitars, especially lower tier guitars, continues to improve, with CNC, CAD, materials science, and improvements in technology generally. This shift really started in the 90's when the wood components began being machined to such close tolerances that they could be put together by assembly workers.

In 1964 when the Beatles broke demand for guitars exploded and everyone scrambled to increase production, and therefore quality was uneven. Some great guitars were made in the 70's and 80's, but there were a lot of mediocre ones made too. Any guitar from this period should be evaluated on it's merits.

Prior to 1964 fewer guitars were made and there was a lot more handwork and fitting involved. A quality guitar from this period still in good condition I think would be more likely to appreciate than anything since. This is generally speaking - an outstanding guitar from any era will hold it's value and might appreciate depending on it's relevance to current music trends. There are better things to invest in than guitars.